Boys for a buck spays, neuters pets in Indian River county

HOBIE HILER/SPECIAL TO TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS
Maria Ramirez (center), an animal care manager at the Humane Society of Vero Beach and Indian River County, stops and hands Manuel Juarez (left), 18, and his friend Hailey Oliver (right), 17, both of Fellsmere, information on the "Boys for a Buck" sterilization program for dogs and cats, with Aubrey Mallory (second form left), a surgery technician at the Humane Society of Vero Beach and Indian River County, and Anselmo Aponte (second from right), a volunteer with the Humane Society of Vero Beach and Indian River County, as the Humane Society of Vero Beach and Indian River County canvas neighborhoods providing sterilization and pet healthcare assistance to residence in Fellsmere on Sunday.
Maria Ramirez CQ
Manuel Juarez CQ
Hailey Olive CQ
Aubrey Mallory CQ
Anselmo Aponte CQ
PHOTO TAKEN: SUNDAY 2/24/13
0226_TCLO_FELLSMERE DOGS002.jpg

FELLSMERE — When Roxanna Espinosa found her dog Coco three years ago, he had a broken leg. And after paying veterinary bills for his orthopedic care, the Fellsmere resident was not able to pay the cost of neutering the 3-year-old mixed breed.

Espinosa was at home Sunday when volunteers from the Humane Society of Vero Beach and Indian River County stopped by her home on Orange Street in Fellsmere to let her know about the "Boys for a Buck" program where pets like Coco can be neutered for $1 and receive their vaccinations through the pet wellness clinic. About 15 volunteers combed the streets of Fellsmere, contacting more than 200 families with pets to let them know about the program.

"I usually think about the Humane Society just as the place that picks up stray dogs," said Espinosa. "I think this type of program will help a lot of people who love their pets but can't afford veterinarian care."

The program was made possible by a generous gift to the shelter by volunteers Joanna and Augustine Salina, who said they made the donation so more people could become aware of the importance of neutering and vaccinating their animals. Vaccines were donated by veterinary pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim.

"Sometimes, people just don't understand how important spaying and neutering is," said Joanna Salina. "We feel people really love their cats and dogs and if this will help them with the costs, we're happy to be a part of it."

Maria Ramirez, director of animal care at the shelter, said Humane Society officials chose Sunday as the outreach day in Fellsmere because they felt more people with pets would be at home.

"We've noticed that the ASPCA has had a lot of success with this type of outreach event and we thought we would try it," said Ramirez. "We think we'll be able to help more owners and their pets with this type of one-on-one contact."

Irael Gamez of Sebastian read about the Fellsmere event and met up with volunteers to register his 6-year-old German Shepherd Lazarus for neutering. Gamez said the cost for the procedure is usually high, and he was taking advantage of the special $1 offer.

"I think this is just an awesome thing to do," said Gamez. "It is usually very expensive to have a dog neutered and vaccinated and that was holding me back. But now he'll get everything he needs."

Over the four-hour period on Sunday, 19 vouchers for spay/neuter and vaccination services were issued, according to Ramirez. Ten pet ID tags were issued and other families received information about the pet wellness clinic. The pets will be taken to the shelter for services on March 5.

"We'll be going back to 10 families in need to provide additional pet care supplies and pet food," said Ramirez. "And the clinic has been getting a lot of calls from people who weren't at home but who received our literature and the offer to help. Our outreach event was definitely a success but there's still more to be done."